


Howling Inside an Empty Skin

by Northern_Star



Category: Fairy Tales and Related Fandoms
Genre: Other, Revisionist Fairy Tale, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-11
Updated: 2011-12-11
Packaged: 2017-10-27 05:01:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/291847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Northern_Star/pseuds/Northern_Star
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Once there was a little village maiden who went by the name of Little Red-Riding-Hood and whose innocent young life ended tragically in the belly of a big bad wolf.</p><p>This...is a completely different story, in which Red isn't that little, and the wolf isn't all that bad. As for the grandmother? She dies anyway, but it's for a good cause.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Howling Inside an Empty Skin

**Author's Note:**

  * For [butforthegrace](https://archiveofourown.org/users/butforthegrace/gifts).



> Much thanks to B. for being an awesome word-war buddy, and to T. for going above and beyond on the beta. You guys rock!!

Once upon a time, in a forest not so far away, lived a young grey wolf, who had just reached the the age of mating. However, no matter how much his elders insisted, he refused to mate with just anyone, simply out of necessity. He would pick a female that inspired and intrigued him, if and when he met one that did.

It had never occurred to him that the most interesting, and most desirable female might turn out not to be a wolf at all...

Living in the forest, the grey wolf had met and observed many different types of creatures. Some that were too small to bother with, some too fast to catch and eat, some that ran when they sensed him, some that fought back, and some that were so strange he didn't know what to make of them. He'd seen crawlers and fliers, runners and climbers, and he'd even seen those that his elders called humans, but never before had he seen anything quite like _her_.

Oh, he knew she was human. She, like them, walked on two legs, and covered herself in other animals' furs. But humans were most awful creatures. They killed for sport rather than food, showed no respect for the forest, and reeked from the scent of their cities. He had hated on sight every single human he'd ever encountered -- until her.

She was smaller in stature, tiny almost. She had long, fiery red hair that went below her waist. Her skin was pale with tiny specks of copper. Her eyes were the purest shade of emerald he had ever seen. Her face was a picture of sweetness and innocence, and from her lips came most beautiful music he'd ever heard. There wasn't a bird in the sky, or a creature on the earth that could rival her.

He watched her walk along a beaten path, where she often bent down near a pretty flower or a small critter, and rather than hurt it, as all humans inevitably did, she admired, she caressed, she appreciated. For over an hour he followed her, hiding in the shadows, for he could not take his eyes off this most delightful being.

A strange darkness fell over his heart when he saw her disappear into a dwelling at the edge of the forest. With a certainty that went all the way to his core, he knew right then that he had met the one creature who could truly touch his soul and his heart. The first and only female he would ever consider taking for a mate.

He knew he would have to change his life for her, but after spending all day waiting to see her come out into the forest again, it occurred to him that he already had.

~*~

For weeks he observed her, learned her habits, and followed her schedules. He accumulated all the knowledge he could, just as any good predator studies its prey. He wasn't hunting her per se. Of course not. Truly, the thought of harming her was the furthest from his mind. But he couldn't show himself and let her see him without any prior, careful preparation.

Humans, he knew, were afraid of wolves. And humans, being the vicious creatures they were, never hesitated to hurt and kill anything and everything that frightened them. In this forest, wolves were most feared. The grey wolf had seen enough of his own kind injured or killed savagely by humans to know this for a certainty. Enough to be perfectly aware that if one was a wolf, the safest and best place to be was far away from humanity.

This of course, posed a very real, very complicated problem. Red, his precious, beautiful Red (for this is what he called her as he knew not what she called herself), was human, too. And though she was sweet and loving, caring for all the creatures she met in the forest, she also happened to wear a sharp-looking knife in her belt and he was absolutely certain that she knew how to use it and would, should she find herself threatened by the likes of him.

Therefore, before he could reveal himself, he needed to find a way to get close to her without frightening her away. He needed her to feel safe, even in the presence of a grey wolf that was easily twice her size and several times as strong. Since he couldn't simply _tell_ her, he had to find a way to _show_ her he wasn't a threat. He needed for her to understand that he was friendly. He needed for her to understand what she meant to him.

~*~

One cold winter morning, as he observed her from behind a large oak tree, which he believed was a well concealed vantage point, the grey wolf realized that Red had seen him. The sight of him had obviously startled her, in fact. The way she stared at him, eyes wide and mouth gaping, her hand closing around the knife at her waist. The grey wolf knew that anything he did now would either justify his efforts or cause all hopes to come crashing like an axeman’s tree around him.

Sensing that any sudden or unexpected move would cause her to pull the knife and hurl it in his direction, the grey wolf simply stared back, motionless for a moment, until he nodded at her. Contrary to what any other self-respecting wolf would have, he slowly turned around and left, looking back once as he went.

There would be no more following Red today, of course. One close encounter was more than enough for now. But it was a start. She'd seen him. And he'd shown her that he wasn't the enemy. Hopefully she'd understood...

~*~

The grey wolf showed himself again many more times after that. Red always seemed startled and afraid, so he simply looked back at her, nodded, then left peacefully again.

One day, as he was standing behind the same big oak tree as usual, patiently waiting for Red to walk by, the grey wolf heard the telltale sounds of another animal approaching. One quick look to his left revealed another wolf, hidden in a small bush. They weren't from the same pack, but the grey wolf had seen him before. He was an alpha, a big one, with a large patch of white fur on the side of his neck. And his presence here, now, was bad news. Very bad news.

The white-patch wolf had lost his mate recently, killed by a human she'd encountered while chasing after one of her young. This was a wolf who would not hesitate to jump out onto the path and attack for revenge; it was certainly why he was here in the first place. But there was no way the grey wolf would let any harm come to his beloved Red; especially not at the paws of a bitter old wolf!

There wasn't any time to plan, as the sounds of someone walking down the beaten path started becoming clearer and louder. Red was almost there. There was barely even any time to think before the white-patch wolf sprinted out of the bush, launching himself in Red's direction.

The grey wolf followed and caught up, closing his jaws around one of the other wolf's hind legs. With all the strength he could muster, the grey wolf sunk his teeth into the white-patch wolf's thick fur, and deep enough inside his flesh to feel the blood starting to pour into his mouth.

The fight didn't last very long. The grey wolf was younger, faster, more agile, and obviously stronger than his opponent. Though he too was bitten and viciously clawed, the gray wolf had won the battle. The white-patch wolf had no other choice but to retreat, panting and limping, to the forest.

Red had stood on the path, just a few steps away, watching wide-eyed the entire time. The grey wolf pawed at some blood on his muzzle, nodded to her in the same way he always did, and intended to walk away. But as he started to turn, he heard Red calling out to him.

"Thank you," she said, her voice a little shaky. "Thank you for saving my life."

The grey wolf turned to look at her, nodded once more, then walked away into the forest.

The white-patch wolf, despite having caused the grey wolf a few substantial injuries, including a large gash on the side of the nose, had given him something he hadn't yet been able to achieve on his own -- a way to befriend Red.

~*~

Whenever he saw Red now, the grey wolf ventured out of the wood and onto the path. Sometimes, he picked a flower between his teeth to leave on the ground before her, and every time now, she would speak to him. For a while this was all it took to make the grey wolf happy, make his heart swell in his chest.

But as happy as this made him, it wasn't enough. This was close to nothing, and it would never be enough at all. The grey wolf wanted more, so much more; needed more then infrequent, fleeting encounters, with a human who, though she was no longer afraid of him, had reached out to touch him only once.

She'd given him a collar that she'd told him would help her make sure she could recognize him always. He'd accepted it of course, even knowing the others from his pack would ridicule him for it. He'd accepted it because Red had told him she'd made it for him. And thought it pained him to realize that even after so many encounters, she still didn't trust herself to tell him apart from another wolf, he knew also that this meant he'd become special to her.

Since that day, he had craved her touch, dreamt of her hand running through his fur, aching to be caressed by her once more, though fearing it might never happen again. He needed more than what they had. He needed it like air to breathe and water to quench this unquenchable yearning fire within him.

For it wasn't a friend that he sought in her; he wanted her for a mate. But she was human, and he a wolf, and his elders had warned him that such a thing was impossible. For such a mating to happen, they opined, would surely require some sort of powerful magic. Since the grey wolf possessed none, he sought the help of the great horned owl, who, as the oldest and wisest of all the animals, always knew exactly what to do...

~*~

For several days after Red's last trip through the forest, the grey wolf planned, prepared and worked everything out that needed to be done. Gathering the things he needed, he mentally readied himself for what was to come. On the night of the full moon, he finally took action. He ventured right to the edge of the dwelling where he'd seen Red disappear so many times in the past. He found an open window and entered the house.

Very little energy was required to end the old woman's life; she never even had the strength to fight back. The long, painful transformation that followed, on the other hand, robbed the grey wolf of every ounce of energy he possessed, leaving him weak, cold, and panting near a mound of freshly dug earth.

He was still lying on his side, naked and shivering by the time the first rays of sunlight started filtering though the tall trees surrounding the house. As the warmth of the sun gradually brought strength to him again, he forced himself to his feet -- his two feet -- and hobbled more than he walked inside the house.

He removed the collar from his neck, and retrieved the human clothing he'd carefully gathered. He struggled with the clothes, trying to figure out buttons and other closures that he'd never had any use for and didn't quite understand.

Then he walked out of the house again, every movement he made and every step he took helping him gain further assurance in this new body. In the garden, he carefully buried his victim's body, covered the grave with the earth he'd dug, and set a thin layer of leaves over it.

As he walked back to the house, now covered in blood and dirt, he realized with a start that Red was already inside.

She stared at him, eyes growing wide, and her expression turned to horror.

"What have you done?" she squeaked, her voice trembling. In her hand she held the white collar she'd once given him, and which now stained with blood.

"My wolf," she cried. "What have you done to my wolf?"

He opened his mouth to speak, but realized he didn't yet know how to get the words to come out, and in the time it took before he could make the simplest sound, Red had run out of the house and into the garden, by way of the back door. He heard her screaming in pain and despair, and found her on her hands and knees, frantically digging out the grave he had just filled in. The one with the old woman’s body.

"I did not harm him," he managed to get out, walking closer to her, and setting a hand on her shoulder gently.

She screamed at his touch, looking over to him, tears streaming down her face. "Leave me alone, murderer! You killed my wolf!"

"I did not harm the wolf," he told her. "Look--" he traced the large scar that went across his nose and cheek "--do you not recognize me?"

Red blinked and squinted, then got up and looked at his face. Recognition flashed in her eyes. Her head snapped back to the grave below her feet. She looked up at him again, mouth gaping.

"We're the same now," he explained. "We can be together."

But as he reached out to touch her again, she grabbed the knife at her waist. Quick as lightning, she struck him with it just above the navel, screaming, "You monster! How could you kill my grand-mother? How could you be so cruel? We'll never be the same! Never!"

Red ran away, sobbing, never looking back to watch the wolf, now human, crumple to the ground, clutching his belly in sheer and absolute agony.

With his last dying breaths he whispered to the wind, "I love you, Red. I did it because I love you."

  


~The End~

  



End file.
